Some Noblesse Shorts
by MyTigerNacho
Summary: Written for the Noblesse December Event on Tumblr by madameazure. Chapter 1: A Letter. Chapter 2: Glass. Chapter 3: Forgetful. Chapter 4: Soothe. Chapter 5: Chess. Chapter 6: Argument. Chapter 7: Fearless. Chapter 8: Synonym Shenanigans. Chapter 9: Incandescent. Chapter 10: Change.
1. A Letter

My Dearest Cadis Etrama di Raizel,

I hope that this finds you in good health. I understand that you are now living with a human. I have been waiting for you to introduce us for a few years now. You did say you would, you know. Do you remember that? Hmm? Do you?

Well it's alright! I knew you had forgotten, so I decided to throw a Christmas Party here at the castle so that I and all the other clan leaders can meet him, and to get you out of that stuffy house of yours. Do you know what Christmas is, Raizel? Gejutel told me about it when he last ventured out into the human world. Apparently on one day a year humans will decorate a tree and place it in the middle of their town. Then the whole town holds a celebration around it! I expect this is what humans do to celebrate nature. They are so creative. So we are going to partake in these festivities and hold a celebration with a pretty, decorated tree inside the castle!

Sounds fun, doesn't it? Of course it does! I have already invited all the clan leaders to this fun gathering, and I expect you and your new companion to be present. Also, to ensure you do not forget, I will send Raskreia to pick you up.

Until December 25th,

Cool Lord

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey guys, these are all short Noblesse fanfics written for NDE. Please review on any or every one :)


	2. Glass

The musings of Muzaka.

* * *

He stared out. Suspended, eyes unfocused. He could hear his blood pounding in his ears, could feel the chemicals race throughout his body, the freezing fire and burning ice coursing through his veins. He did not know what they were doing to him. He didn't care. He had agreed to this.

But he could leave at any time.

He stared out. Floating, eyes half lidded. Scientists and personnel scurried about the place like mice. Their existence was silent and insignificant.

And fragile. Like the glass that warped his view. Like the glass that shielded him from the outside world and made everything intangible.

There was nothing keeping him here but the glass. The confining glass. The unfeeling glass. The weak glass.

But he could leave at any time.

He stared out. Hanging, eyes closing. He could leave at any time if he wanted to.

After all.

It was only glass.


	3. Forgetful

Edian's Perspective

* * *

Edian wandered through the halls of the mansion. It had been many, many years since she had last visited Sir Cadis Etrama di Raizel. She knew there was a reason why she had been away for so long. But she couldn't quite remember it. Nonetheless, she felt a strong urge, a need, to visit him now.

The rooms and halls seemed different then she was used to. Had Sir Raizel redecorated? He had never redecorated before. No, that's right, Raizel lived with a human now. He had bonded to him, hadn't he? Of course, he and Frankenstein were bonded now. How silly of her to forget. And strange.

But it had been a long time. Perhaps not so strange, then, to forget.

She continued drifting, making her way to the room which Sir Raizel always occupied. She knew that once she reached it she would see the ever-static presence of Sir Raizel. He would turn slightly and gaze at her with a stare that she both feared and adored. Frankenstein would probably serve tea. And she would be content.

And there he was.

It seems she wasn't the only clan leader to visit him today. He was standing next to Lagus Tradio. Frankenstein and Gradeus were off the side, likely arguing over something. Frankenstein liked to argue. It was likely trivial, but still, she hoped she wouldn't have to intervene. She didn't want Sir Raizel to be upset.

Entering the spacious room, she nodded to Sir Raizel and smiled ever so slightly. She didn't know why, but today Sir Raizel's presence made her feel completely at peace.

* * *

 **A/N:** This is my version of what Edian was seeing during the Battle of Lukedonia up until's Rai's arrival. We know she was drugged and that she didn't really know what was going on, but Rai's appearence seems to have had a big enough impact for her to snap out of it. She was an interesting character that I think would have been a good addition to the household, so I decided to write a fic about her :)


	4. Soothe

Muzaka stood on the balcony, fingers clenched on the rail. He glared into the distance. Everything had changed from when he'd last been awake. Below him the cacophony of the city pounded against his eardrums. It seemed like the garish lights blinded him wherever he looked. Even the air smelled rancid, suffocating.

His aura flashed out dangerously and his grip tightened, earning him a high-pitched shriek of tortured metal. Vaguely he sensed movement behind him, but he ignored it. Whoever it was would disappear real quick once they saw what sort of mood he was in.

Instead, warm arms wrapped around him from behind. His expression turned confused and he released the railing in shock.

A glance over his left shoulder revealed that it was Raizel behind him.

He waited a few incredulous moments before realizing that he was not going to get an answer without asking.

"Um, Raizel? What are you doing?" Muzaka inquired, baffled.

"I am hugging you. The children say that hugging a person is a good way of soothing them." Raizel's face was, as usual, completely serious and sincere as he released him and turned around to walk purposefully back into the house. As if that settled the matter.

Muzaka stared after him. Then he turned to stare thoughtfully back over the balcony railing.

So Raizel had tried to comfort him? He had never attempted to make physical contact with him before. It wasn't even something he had ever imagined Raizel doing, it seemed so out of character for him. Just like it seemed so out of character for Raizel to live in a house surrounded by others.

He smiled and turned back, walking into the house full of people. Yes, it seemed everything had changed, but maybe not all changes were bad.


	5. Chess

Gejutel eyed the multi-hued wooden board. It laid on a small table in his sitting room where he had placed it earlier. It was small, maybe two feet wide and two feet long. The entirety of the board was covered by smaller squares that alternated in color, one light brown and the other dark brown. Spread out around the board were small, wooden carvings whose meaning and purpose baffled him. He knew that the two had to be associated with each other as they had been given to him at the same time, but he had yet to discover the purpose behind either of them. And he couldn't go ask the man who had brought them to his house and claimed it was a gift.

Frankenstein.

To ask Frankenstein would be to admit defeat, admit his ignorance about the peculiar wooden artifacts he had been given. He would not allow himself to experience something so humiliating, especially not in front of Frankenstein. He would have to do everything in his power to investigate this gift before visiting Sir Raizel again.

* * *

Frankenstein smiled wryly as he began making his Master his favorite flavor of tea. He had finally finished carving and creating the chess board and pieces and delivered them to the Landegre clan home. He hadn't sent a note or explanation of any kind. He did not expect Gejutel to show up and ask him about it, though. Gejutel was too proud and stubborn. So Gejutel would have to go searching for an answer. He knew it wouldn't be long before Gejutel discovered the purpose of what he had been sent, and Frankenstein was curious as to what the result would be.

His smile widened as he looked out the window toward the Landegre mansion. Let's see if the old man could learn strategy.


	6. Argument

Yuna, Shinwoo, Suyi, and Ikhan all sat around a table at the Noblesse Café.

Suyi rolled her eyes. "They don't exist, Shinwoo."

She sipped her skinny vanilla latte as she shook her head at Shinwoo's antics. They had planned to meet up with Rai and the others here instead of the Chairman's house for once. Today was a weekday, but it was the day of Ye Ran's Anniversary, so there wasn't any school. Since it was noon there wasn't a lot of people at the Café, which was why they decided to meet here. Too often they couldn't go anywhere too public because she would get surrounded by fans and paparazzi.

"Well, I think they do!" Shinwoo insisted. Shinwoo's usual boisterous voice sounded even louder in the near-empty shop.

"In fact, I have proof!" he said proudly. "I think the guy that attacked Yuna a few months ago was a vampire!"

He looked around the table as if he expected everyone's mind to be blown.

Ikhan put his chai tea down and pushed his glasses up. "Shinwoo, that's not proof, that's just your opinion."

"Yeah, but it makes sense! I mean, come on, he was waaay stronger than a normal person, his eyes were red, and we only ever saw him during the night! A vampire!" His tone and the look in his eyes suggested that he had just offered irrefutable proof.

Suyi sighed. "Shinwoo, I know you're strong, but that doesn't mean you're the strongest person in the world. There are bound to be other people out there that are stronger than you! And it's not weird that you met him when it was night, he was insane and trying to hurt you guys. Doing that in the dark means there's less of a chance that other people will witness it."

Shinwoo pouted over his cup of black coffee. "Then how do you explain the red eyes? That's definitely not normal."

Hmm. "Maybe he had some busted blood vessels in his eyes or something?"

Shinwoo crossed his arms. "That wasn't from busted blood vessels! You weren't there, Suyi, you didn't see him, this guy was definitely not human."

Suyi put her hand over her face. "Yuna, can you please talk some sense into him?"

When Yuna didn't answer right away, she looked over at her.

Yuna cheeks heated a little as she nervously stirred her iced coffee. "Well, I don't know, I mean, I can't really convince myself that he was a real vampire, but there _was_ something weird about him. Just, off, you know? Plus…"

Yuna looked around the room like she was afraid she would be overheard and lowered her voice a little.

"You know Mr. Kim who lives next door to me? Well, I babysit his son sometimes, and the other day he told me about a Blood Drive that the hospital was hosting and asked if I could spread the news. He's one of the doctors that works at the hospital. But he told me that there was a real shortage of donated blood in the area, so I asked why that was. Just kinda making conversation, you know? And he told me that when that guy killed all those people at the hospital, he also apparently broke into their Blood Bank and destroyed most of their stock of donated blood. He said it was all over the floor. Nothing else in the hospital was destroyed, though."

She glanced around the table with a conflicted expression on her face.

"I know the guy was insane and all, but still, isn't that a weirdly specific thing to do? Their Blood Bank is really secure too, why would he take the time to do that?"

She looked at Suyi with an almost apologetic look. "I mean, sure, there's no way to _prove_ he was a vampire, but there's also no way to prove that he _wasn't_ one."

Suyi didn't really know how to respond to that. Rai, Regis, Seira, and the Parachute Trio spared her from having to respond by walking in and sitting down with them at their table.

Tao smiled happily at them all. "Hey guys, what are y'all talking about?"

Suyi looked around at the others and grinned.

"Vampires."

* * *

 **A/N:** I realize that it kinda devolved from an argument to a discussion, but that's where it went. Since I was inspired to write it by the 'Argument' prompt though I'm just gonna file it under Argument lol.

Wanted to give the children some love since we haven't seen them in a while :(


	7. Fearless

Cadis Etrama Di Raizel.

The Noblesse.

The Symbol of Power.

He had the right to destroy anyone.

He did not associate with them. He had made himself unavailable.

As powerful and godlike as the leaders of the 13 Lukedonian families were, he did not bat an eye when they came to visit. Like their existence was meaningless to him, and the happenings outside his solitary window were of far greater importance. To be acknowledged by such a being was the hope and dream of many.

His poise and appearance, his elegance and power, everything about him bespoke of the perfect Noble.

Truly, Cadis Etrama Di Raizel was a being to be respected, revered, and above all, feared.

Because he walked a path without fear.

* * *

Muzaka.

The Werewolf Lord.

A symbol of strength.

He had the power to defend his title for untold centuries.

He did not spend time with them. He was often unavailable, travelling the world for years without making contact.

As powerful and numerous as the challengers were, he did not bat an eye at their skills during battle. Like all their training meant nothing in the face of his overwhelming strength, and the happenings in the human world were of far greater importance. To defeat such a being was the hope and dream of many.

His confidence and presence, his abilities and prowess, everything about him indicated he was the perfect Werewolf Lord.

Truly, Muzaka was a being to be respected, revered, and above all, feared.

Because he walked a path without fear.

* * *

 **A/N:** I wanted to do a juxtaposition of Muzaka and Raizel and show some similarities they shared even though their personalities are so different. I also have been thinking about the reason why everyone seems to fear (and respect) these two characters so damn much is because these two do not seem to fear anything themselves. So I just combined those two ideas and this is what I got. :)


	8. Synonym Shenanigans

"Shinwoo, could you please not drop crumbs everywhere? Such actions have no elegance."

The children had once again come home with Rai-nim, Regis, and Seira in order to have a study session. Finals were coming up soon, and the kids had agreed to tutor Rai-nim in math and Shinwoo in, well, everything, it seemed.

However, they seemed to have gotten distracted, in part because this was the first time in a while that he and Takeo were able to participate in the fun (though that was probably just an excuse so they could take a study break). The two of them normally washed dishes while Tao entertained the others, but since it was too early for dinner and there were no dishes to wash the children had insisted that everyone join them for some snacks.

"Regis, can't you talk about something other than 'elegance'?" Rael seemed to perpetually be in a bad mood.

"Yeah, Regis, you should mix it up!" Shinwoo stood up as if to emphasize the seriousness of what he was about to say. "Don't just use 'elegance' all the time, say 'dignity' or something! Right, Ikhan?"

M-21 frowned. Did Shinwoo think Rael meant Regis's word choice?

Ikhan quickly stood up as well and crossed his arms for good measure.

"Exactly. Shinwoo knows he doesn't have 'elegance' by now, so tell him he has no 'refinement.' Maybe then it'll stick."

"What!" Shinwoo whirled on Ikhan.

Tao decided to join in, because of course he did. "What about 'sophistication?'"

"Or propriety," Suyi chimed in, giggling at Shinwoo's expense.

"Or noblesse." Yuna added, smiling.

M-21 froze and stared at her.

What?

Did she just say _Noblesse_?

Everyone else in the household was staring at her, too.

She blinked and blushed a little at all the attention.

"What?" She asked, confusion obvious in her tone and expression.

"W-what did you just say?" Regis stammered out, his eyes wide.

Yuna's head tilted a little like she was trying to decipher why he sounded so shocked.

"Noblesse. It's considered a synonym of 'elegance.' It means 'nobility.'

Regis's mouth fell open as his eyes began to sparkle.

M-21 shook his head. Well, so much for trying to get him to use a different word. Now he would _never_ stop saying it.

* * *

 **A/N:** It's true. Look it up on . Noblesse is a synonym for elegance! .


	9. Incandescent

Rai eyed the tree that was standing in the corner of the living room.

Last week the children had told him about 'Christmas,' a day which occurs once a year where humans give gifts to each other. The concept seemed simple, but there were actually quite a lot of traditions to uphold before the gifts could be given.

Rai did not understand the purpose of these traditions, but since he was living in the human world it was only right to follow them.

For instance, you needed a tree to put the gifts under.

After informing Frankenstein that he wished to partake in this human tradition with the children, Tao, Takeo, and Frankenstein had disappeared for several hours. When they returned they had brought back with them a large tree called a 'fir.' Frankenstein had informed him that this was the kind of tree that humans called a 'Christmas Tree.'

Rai had just nodded. He trusted Frankenstein's judgement.

Frankenstein had placed it in a red and green container filled with water, with a similarly colored blanket underneath.

But obtaining a tree was just the beginning.

The tree was expected to have lights and decorations on it.

M-21 and Regis had been put in charge of putting lights on the tree after some light instructions from Frankenstein. They had chosen ones that shone a soft gold on green wire. Rai had silently watched them bicker good-naturedly at each other as they walked around and around the tree, wrapping the lights around each branch so that the tree itself appeared incandescent.

After the lights, the children had informed him, came the decorations for the tree.

Seira, Rael, and Karias had gone to a store and purchased the decorations needed, called ornaments, which would be hung from the tree.

The children had all come over to participate in this part of the tradition.

While everyone was inspecting the ornaments, preparing snacks or simply talking to one another, Yuna had walked up to him and handed him one of the ornaments.

"Come on, Rai, come decorate the tree!"

"Yeah, Rai, it's your first Christmas, so you get to hang the first ornament!"

So now Rai eyed the tree, looking for a suitable place to hang the small, glass, red-tinted rose he held in his hand. Shinwoo leaned around him as he deliberated, while the rest of the household waited with bated breath. A slight gap between two of the branches in front of one of the lights finally caught his eye, so he wrapped the wire attached to the rose around the upper branch and released it, watching it reflect the light behind it.

"Good place, Rai!"

Blushing slightly at the unexpected compliment, he turned toward Frankenstein who had walked up next him.

Frankenstein handed him a mug with a genuine smile on his face at Rai's delight and embarrassment.

Rai took the mug, nodding his appreciation, and sat back down.

The house was now full of chattering and music that the children insisted was also part of the tradition of Christmas. Some people were placing more delicate glass figures on the tree, while others were sitting and standing around the tree drinking sweet drinks like 'eggnog' and 'hot chocolate.' Rai himself was enjoying a cup of the latter, savoring the sweetness and happiness that had less to do with the drink he had than with the people he was surrounded by.

* * *

 **A/N:** Some holiday fun :)

Special thanks to 'Smile' for all the great reviews :) I appreciate it soooo much!


	10. Change

M-21 walked around the perimeter of the school one last time.

School had gotten out two hours ago, the children all filing out the gate towards their homes, but as a member of the Ye Ran Security Team it was his duty to patrol the school even during non-school hours. He had never done patrol work before, but he couldn't let anyone become aware of that. That was why he was walking alone, without the accompaniment of another guard. Asking for help was the same as showing weakness.

He had his orders; if he couldn't carry them out, then he would be useless.

When he heard the school bell chime six times, he walked back to the security office. The other guards milled around him, most of them talking about how they were going to spend their paychecks. M-21 ignored them for the most part. Even if he had been familiar with them he wouldn't have been able to join in the conversation. He had never purchased anything except a few extra sets of clothes, and had no plans for what was left. He figured it'd be good to have some savings since he didn't know what was going to happen to him in the long run.

Plus, he really didn't have anything else he wanted to buy.

"Hey 21, can I ask you something?" M-21's eyebrow twitch slightly at his new nickname as he turned toward Takeo. The three of them were making their last round around the empty school. Tao leaned around behind him to look at Takeo as well, obviously curious.

"Sure." M-21 responded, wondering what information Takeo could possibly want from him.

"What do you spend your money on?"

Wha -? That had been unexpected. Why did Takeo want to know that? After thinking about it for a moment, he couldn't find a reason not to answer him, so he answered honestly. It wasn't like it was sensitive or important information anyway.

"Nothing. I've bought clothes once or twice, but other than that I haven't needed to buy anything." He shrugged.

"What? So you haven't been buying _anything_? Why not? We make so much money working for the Boss!" Tao had started calling Frankenstein 'Boss' a few days ago. It made M-21 wonder if he had had nicknames for all the members of DA-5, or if this was a trait he had been suppressing while in the Union. He guessed the latter.

Still, he paused to consider Tao's question. Why _hadn't_ he bought anything? From what he understood of normal humans, not having the money to buy things, and yet still wanting them, was a major trial for most people. He could understand that, in a way. The Union never frivolously handed out money to low-level agents like himself. They were content if they were given enough money to feed themselves. But material items? What use were those? He hadn't had a permanent residence. He hadn't had any hobbies or interests, other than staying alive for one more day. What reason could someone like M-21 possibly want to buy something?

But right now he had more money than he had ever had his whole life. He had a nice place that he lived and ate several delicious meals a day. He _did_ have a home now, Frankenstein had even said so. And yet, he still didn't know what he should buy. For some reason this bothered him more than it had before. And for once, he wanted to tell someone about this problem, even though he was making himself vulnerable, even though it was relatively trivial, he wanted someone to listen to him.

He took a deep breath. "I guess because I was never given much money, being a low-level agent. All my clothes, board, and equipment were taken care of by the Union, so there was nothing that I could buy and there was no reason to buy anything but food. But even now that I have money, I still don't have anything that I want to buy."

He shrugged again, trying to play it off as if it wasn't a big deal, but he started growing tense as he waited for their response. He was expecting pity, maybe even straight-up laughter at his vulnerable state. But he had chosen to do this. He would see it through no matter what.

He didn't expect two almost inaudible sighs of relief.

"I'm kinda glad to hear that. Even though we were given a decent amount of money for each mission, I never used it for anything other than food, either, since everything from our weapons to our shampoo was given to us by the Union. But here, I don't even need to buy food, so I'm at a lost as to what to do with this money. I was asking because I was hoping you could give me an idea of what else I could be buying, since you've been here longer than me."

Takeo looked a little embarrassed as he said this, one hand going to the back of his neck and rubbing nervously.

M-21 didn't really know what to say to that – he had never been very verbose – but luckily Tao jumped in.

"Haha, yeah, it's the same with me, really. The Union gave me equipment that was way more advanced than anything else you could buy at a shop. Plus, I didn't get to go out often since I was supposed to be gathering as much data as I could for whatever mission we were doing at the time. I haven't even really thought about what to do with all this money." Tao's expression turned thoughtful as they completed their last round and headed toward the security office.

M-21 walked between them in shock for a few moments. He hadn't expected them to empathize with his problem. DA-5 had been exponentially more highly regarded than someone like him. He had thought for sure that they knew something about having a large amount of money at your disposal that he didn't. He had assumed since they had specialized interests and abilities (unlike him) that they would just spend their money on that, but that apparently wasn't the case. They were at a loss with what to do with their salary the same as him.

Takeo had even come to him for _advice_.

It was a foreign feeling to him, but like when Frankenstein had still trusted him after the incident with that bodyguard, or how the children had laughed happily as they defeated him in a board game, it wasn't a bad feeling.

As they left the security office and started to head home, Tao perked up.

"Okay, I got it! Since none of us knows what to do with our salary, from now on we're going to spend our weekends looking for stuff to spend our money on!"

M-21 joined Takeo in looking at Tao incredulously.

"What?" Tao asked indignantly. "It'll be fun! Just think about all the cool things humans have! We can see which ones we like and buy 'em! With the money we have we'll be able sample a lot of things!"

M-21's eyebrows rose as the corners of his mouth pulled down. "So you want us to just, what? Walk into a store, close our eyes, point at something and then buy it?"

Tao's eyes lit up. "Haha, that's a great idea, 21! That's exactly what we'll do!"

M-21's scowl deepened. He'd walked right into that one, hadn't he?

As they arrived at and entered the house, Tao kept up a constant stream of chatter.

"In fact, how about we go right after dinner? Just on a scouting trip, ya know? See what kind of shops are around. I wonder what kind of technology normal humans are using? I bet we could find some interesting clothes too. Ooh, maybe we could find stuff to get each other! What do y'all think about…"

His voice trailed off as he almost skipped back to his room, leaving the other two standing in the doorway looking after him.

M-21 turned towards Takeo with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"He's not serious, is he? I mean, is he really gonna make us go, too?"

Takeo smiled slightly and shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm sure we can just say 'no.' After all, he can't make us do something if we don't want to."

 **-xxxxxxx-**

 **A/N:** Famous Last Words, Takeo .. And so begins the legend of how Tao is able to make them do anything.

So this was partly inspired by the prompt 'Change' for the NDE. I started out just thinking about change as in money, and how the trio spend their salary. But then I remembered a post I saw on Tumblr about things that it'd be nice to see in Noblesse. One of them was the trio bonding over something other than the need to get stronger, like their time at the Union, and this is what I thought of. I wanted to compare how much M-21 had changed (talking more, actually walking around with people, etc.) even though he didn't really realize it at the time. I can't seem to find the post or remember who originally posted it [ :'( ] but I wanted to mention it anyway since it was partly my inspiration for this short.

This will be my last post in this series since the NDE ends today, but I hope to start a new series of Noblesse short stories just as the ideas come to me.

Thanks for all the views! Feel free to post as many reviews as you want! .


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